Men 'benefit most from aspirin'

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New research suggests that the protective effects of aspirin on the heart and arteries are mainly experienced by men.

Daily aspirin has become a standard treatment for warding off heart attacks but scientists have long puzzled over the way the drug's benefits vary so widely between clinical trials.

Some trials show no difference between aspirin and a "dummy" placebo, while others suggest that aspirin reduces the risk of a heart attack by 50%.

In the new study, doctors examined the results of 23 previously published clinical trials involving more than 113,000 patients. They then analysed how much the ratio of men to women patients affected the trial outcomes.

Dr Don Sin, a member of the team from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, said: "Trials that recruited predominantly men demonstrated the largest risk reduction in non-fatal heart attacks. The trials that contained predominantly women failed to demonstrate a significant risk reduction in these non-fatal events.

"We found that a lot of the variability in these trials seems to be due to the gender ratios, supporting the theory that women may be less responsive to aspirin than men for heart protection."

Recent studies have shown that men and women have major differences in the structure and physiology of the heart's blood vessels. The authors believe these factors may be responsible for the greater protection men get from aspirin.

"From our findings we would caution clinicians on the prescribing of aspirin to women, especially for primary prevention of heart attacks," said Dr Sin. "Whether or not other pharmaceutical products would be more effective for women is unclear; more sex-specific studies should now be conducted."